The preparation of Mathematics Teachers in Australia - ACDS

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st year 2nd year 3rd year
75-100% 5.0 8.9 14.1
50-74% 19.0 21.9 18.6
25 - 49% 35.0 22.4 11.7
1-24% 8.2 6.5 4.7
none 7.7 17.4 29.3
proportion of tertiary course that was mathematics, by year level
Figure 5.3 The proportion of teachers’ university study that involved mathematics units, by university year
level - (Years 1 – 3). 75-80% of teachers answered these questions.
Table 5.5 Degree qualifications of teachers, grouped by their level of mathematics study at university
Bachelor degree
Mathematics
studied at
university
3 rd year
studies
comprising
50% or more
mathematics
other
Science
(B.Sc)
and
Education
(B.Ed)
Science
(B.Sc)
Education
(B.Ed)
Arts
(B.A) 1
Other,
sciencerelated
(not BSc)
Other,
educationrelated
(not
BEd)
Nonbachelor
degree (eg
diploma) 2 Total 3
n 51 458 157 106 46 18 17 857
% 6.4 53.4 18.3 12.4 5.4 2.1 2.0 100%
n 93 455 313 116 102 31 114 1224
% 7.6 37.2 25.6 9.5 8.3 2.5 9.3 100%
1
Excludes teachers with combined Arts/Science degrees, as these are included under Science. Excludes teachers with
combined Arts/Education degrees, as these are included under Education
2
Excludes teachers with a Bachelor degree
3
70 per cent of the teachers surveyed are covered by these qualification categories
5.4 Teachers perceptions of their tertiary preparation
Forty per cent of mathematics teachers did not believe that their university studies had
prepared them well for their current teaching role, and another five per cent expressed
ambivalence (Table 5.6). However, nearly half the teachers surveyed (49%) were satisfied
with their tertiary preparation.
25